Electronic and other circuit designs often depend upon factors beyond the characteristics of the components comprising the circuit. As an example, a circuit in an automobile, such as a circuit used to control deployment of an airbag, may be contained in a housing used to protect the circuit board and its components. In an automotive or other application, it may be advantageous to minimize the overall space occupied by the circuit (or circuits).
Some components, such as capacitors, may require a significant amount of real estate on a circuit board relative to the other components. For example, an electrolytic capacitor may require a significantly larger area than resistors, inductors, transistors, and/or other components in a circuit.
Automated manufacture of electronic circuits can involve a number of steps, including soldering circuit components to printed circuit boards and the like. Automated soldering often involves high temperatures which cannot always be tolerated by all types of components. Electrolytic capacitors, for example, are often characterized by temperature constraints that preclude automated soldering due to the temperatures involved.